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Chipping & Remapping your BMW

147K views 505 replies 185 participants last post by  winter_f20 
#1 ·
This is a work in progress - if there are mistakes, or anything should be added, please post below and I or a moderator will amend

What exactly is ''remaping an engine''
Remapping means that the ECU or engine management system is altered electronically to optimise performance. The manufacturers generally limit their outputs in line with tax laws and or for overall longevity and operating parameters such as high/low temperatures or humidity. The companies that remapp glean the best power and torque curves whilst making sure that reliability is retained.
The bonus is that sometimes this improvement can result in better fuel consumption.


ChippedUK Remap
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" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (talk to member )
Jason from Bw chiptune dissociated him self from chipped uk in 2007 (these are 2 different Jason's they are not the same company)

Cost: £200-£300
Time: 6hrs

Members with this chip:
120deman, Gordie, guardianangeleyes, suaves, morage_key_ring, smithysmith

Approximate figures on a 120d: 210BHP and 326Nm Torque

Comments:
120deman said:
it is BLOODY QUICK!!!!!
The delivery is so much smoother, you have to look at the speedo and what before seemed like 60mph is now 80mph.....and it gets there quick....
.that's in normal mode. Sport mode is wuicker still, but stick it in Steptronic and you've got a rocket.
Jason told me to drive it hard for 100miles before the remap really takes effect.
When he test drove the car after the remap with his Dad......they couldn't believe how quick it was........and came out of the like 2 grinning cheshire cats.
Jason is a top bloke and I would highly recommend him......he certainly knows what he's doing.
As I'm driving more, the car is definitely getting quicker.
I'm pulling away from the lights with much less turbo lag than before....which was one of my major gripes about the car. Other cars are left behind easily. The whole rev range is so much more accessible resulting in an even more responsive driving experience.
It's also smoking less than before under hard acceleration.
I used to get on average 29mpg, the remap is supposed to increase this by a few mpg so I'm keeping my eye on this.
I'm definitely impressed at the moment by the transformation
guardianangeleyes said:
well i took my car to Chipped Uk in Bromsgrove yesterday, they did the remap and put it on their rolling road ... the outcome one very very fast one series i was amazed at how much smoother the engine is and it pulls incredibly well in every gear ( but especially 2nd and 4th for some reason ) it was a 200 mile round trip to bromsgrove but worth every meter .
They are nice people at chipped uk , with a very professional setup like 120deman says i too could recommend having it done to anyone !
( a little advice though ... in my experience i found it far better to go direct to bromsgrove , rather then one of their local dealers ... i wont go into it what happened , but i didnt have a very good experience the first time round
suaves said:
I have also had my 120d done by Jason and I would v highly recommend him. My car flies now! Took me a while to decide to take the plunge, but sooo glad I did.
smithysmith said:
I contacted chipped uk and they put me in touch with Rob at chipzone who does their mobile service for the south, the car was booked in later that week at my place.

The performance increase wasn't immediately noticeable, but when i opened the throttle the difference was amazing.
The car is now seriously quick, and the torque is delivered from about 1800rpm (same as standard) all the way to the red line.

Chipped UK estimate about 210bhp and 420nm of torque i haven't had dynoed but the performance indicates a good power increase me thinks.

30-60 in third was 5.5 now 4.6
50-70 in third is now 3.3
30-70 using second and third is now 5.9

To sum up: If anyone is currently considering a remap i definitely recommend chipped UK, their prices are VERY competitive too.
DMS
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Members with this chip:
Shep, clived

shep said:
Current MPG has improved since DMS from around 28mpg up to 30 mpg after 12 k miles - though economy isn't a major factor - it is a 3 litre engine. Most of this is long distance motorway runs - it can drop below 10mpg if you try.
clived said:
not one for watching the economy (it's the other half's car) the the power differential is certainly "recognizable"
Speed Buster Rail K tuning box
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Members with this:
graham

Cost: £63

graham said:
I have just purchased a Rail K tuning box from Speed Buster at a cost of £63 and it works perfectly, no black smoke and loads more torque.

I have absolutely no complaints about the fueling maps which seem perfect.
Very nice delivery and very very fast!
One thing I have noticed is that fuel consumption suffers terribly on full throttle (15mpg) but it does fly.
I assume this is due to the extra fuel being used.
When I drive it on part throttle I am actually seeing gains in fuel consumption though which is a bonus.
Checked with the manufacturer and it is a digital tuning solution, not a simple resistor (thought so as the mapping is really nice)

It also seems to have settled down and I am now receiving 42.8mpg with regular driving, which is a slight improvement.

Obviously if I use full throttle, the consumption goes down though.

This is an excellent product, extremely well made with BMW wiring covers and connectors and fits (ridiculously easily) snugly under the engine cover with no rattles.

I asked them to reiterate why it is so cheap (buy it now for £100) and they said it was because they are the manufacturer of most tuning boxes on the market hence the saving when you go direct.

I would recommend this to anybody over and above more expensive tuning boxes that I have owned.
Superchips
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See for approx dyno results

Members with this:
gtfire, Sothern-Monkey, Scottie

gtfire said:
Superchips were great to me and gave very good customer support + they come to you if you want, so no long trips out.
The extra power made it the car it should always have been - BMW hold back the power so not to upset the 130i boys ( and girls sorry 130 girl )
Just remember that a box in the engine bay is not nice if you have a prang - a remap is just about undetectable, but if the worst happens it could be traced so consider getting proper insurance - I did not but I would in the future.

Oh and haggle I got £100 off just like that.

0-100 mph 16.24
0-60 mph 6.84
50-70 mph In 3rd 3.38
30-70 mph Through gars 6.08

FUEL CONSUMPTION PRIOR TO CONVERSION 35.6 MPG
FIRST TANK AFTER CONVERSION INC. FULL TESTS 34.8 MPG

Please note:-
Surface was part concrete part tarmac Disused runway
All standing starts were done in dry conditions with DSC fully OFF.
We were very careful not to damage clutch or drive drain.
With this in mind I believe a couple of tenth quicker could easily be achieved for the 0-60mph
No allowance for speedometer inaccuracy were allowed so 0 -100 could be easily 1 sec slower than times stated.
We Had 1/2 tank fuel with 2 persons in car.
Temp 24.5 deg c Sunny.
ALL TIMES WERE BEST TIMES ONE WAY ON LEVEL SURFACE.
Sothern-Monkey said:
Hi, I have a 120d and had superchips ramp up my car. but before I did I took some timings.

50 to 80 in 4th was 9 seconds
70 to 100 in 5 was 13 seconds
70 to 100 in 6th was 17 seconds

After I had the chip done I did some checks and noticed that the car left these times behind, but I did not write down the new figures. I can also hit the end of the clock wich is 155 on a long run, but it gets to 150 no problem. I have a picture with the needel at the end!

hope this helps.
Dragon
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See on how to install.

Members with this:
Ash, bazzagt4 (he no longer has it on the car), brakz, JezyG, DPower, mad-marco, Big Bob_999

Ash said:
fitted my multi map box yesterday which was easier than fitting it to a vag pd engine, apart from connecting the positive lead to the fiddly nut behind the jump lead terminal.

i havent touched the settings so its on 0 setting i think with +3 being most powerful and -3 being for mpg.

i would estimate theres upto 10% extra power. very smooth and no black smoke.

at first i thought it didnt work but it doesnt cut in til the engines warm apparently.

im not gonna mess with it too much, especially at this stage, cos the cars only done just over 1400 miles so theres probably more loosening to come.

so far its the perfect mod for me. the car feels so petrol like with its revvy smoothness compared to before, where it was almost too obvious that the engine was being held back for emissions ratings or whatever.

for what these cars cost, my view is its def worth paying a bit more to get a better return in performance which now compliments the handling and overall driving experience
bazzagt4 said:
I have the Dragon tuning box and found it to be excellent quality and provided me with a nice smooth increase in power while still keeping a good MPG figure.
Brought it from dragon direct and not from ebay.......good customer service and great instructions supplied.
9/10 from me
DPower said:
I've too installed a Dragon box recently on my 120d. I've played around with virtually all the settings and personally found the standard 0 setting to be the best for all round power and torque.

In the Dragon manual it does say increasing the jumper from 0 to +3 just shifts the power band upwards. Therefore putting it onto the +3 setting gives you more higher end power. Personally, when i shifted it to any of the + settings i find the car runs less smooth which gives the impression of less power.
mad-marco said:
got round to fitting it yesterday (it's really easy to fit). So far so good, the engine is smoother at low revs (below 1,750rpm) and pulls better throughout the rev range. Accelleration is better so I'd say generally I'd say it's a success.
MoreGo
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Members with this:
JezyG

JezyG said:
Took my 116i to MoreGo in Brackley to have the ECU remapped. Took around 2 and half hours but the service was excellent and had a good walk round Brackley itself!!

As for the end result firstly I found my mpg went from 34.4 to 37.2 driving the same route in the same manor. Performance wise throttle response is much improved. Pete did say that the original map had a big hole in it which would result in a flat spot. Exactly the same as a 2 litre Z4 he also remapped!!

The engine does have more verve although with only 400 miles on the clock the engine is still too tight to really be able to tell and open her up!
Torque arrives much lower down and I would expect once run in performance to be between a 118i and 120i. The lower final drive ratio giving the engine a little more torque at the wheels than a 118i that has a higher final drive ratio.
It cost me £399 including fitting. Not that cheap but still cheaper than buying a 118i in the first place!
Tunit
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See on how to install.

Members with this:
bollocksman, lee_markham@btinternet.com

Performance Torque
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Members with this:
SWALLET
 
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#2 ·
You've missed off the best company IMHO - emaps - . Simon, the owner is knowledgeable, professional and offers fantastic value for money. Plus he travels to your home or place of work to undertake the remap.

Fantastic - had it done on my old 530d Sport - have yet to think about it on the 130i but probably will :cool2: :bigsmile:
 
#4 ·
Might be worth contacting Simon at Emaps - he may know why or when a map will be developed and delivered
 
#5 ·
I contacted one of the big tuners recently to see what could be expected of my 2007 120d (177 BHP) after their mods only to be old that the new version has an encrypted ECU and that they could not offer any modifications.

I have seen some posts talking about add on boxes, what's the story with these verses ECU remaps?

Thanks,
Darren.
 
#6 ·
AFAIK the add on boxes can give more power as they alter the fuelling. However, you tend to get more smoke (with DERVS) as they don't alter the boost the way an ECU remap does to kepp the balancing act of fuel/boost etc in ratio.

However, some say the better ones are fantastic - see Gizze's posts on the subject. They have the benefit that they can be removed quickly at service time. I have to say I am a big fan of the remap - but as stated Gizze has had both so it may be worth sending him a PM
 
#7 ·
Had my car remapped through the guys at chipzone who use chipped uk files, the car certainly pulls much more cleanly and has loads more torque. I was curious to see the results so i took the car to Surrey rolling road today to use their Dyno Dynamics Dynamometer
the results.........

Max 171.1 bhp at the flywheel/ 141.4 at the wheels
Torque 290ft/lbs at 2500 rpm .the torque has increased alot as i thought but the bhp is not as much as i'd hoped for after a remap.anyone else had similar results? or can the magic 200bhp really be broken? :|
 
#8 ·
Also apart from SPIDER units, there is a company called STEINBAUER. Worth investigating... ;)
 
#9 ·
I keep in touch with Jason at B&W Chiptune on a regular basis and i know since posting my review of his work, many other BabyBMW members have been to see him and had remaps carried out on their cars.
Jason asked me to post this on his behalf, so mods, please delete if you see fit.
He's after approx 20 of the newer 177BHP 1 series to read the maps from their cars as these cannot be remapped at the moment. He is nearly there with map but does want to make sure it's spot on before he carries anything out. All he's after is to read the map from the current software., no data will be changed at this moment in time.
For those that allow him to do this, he is going to give a substantial discount when they do have the car remapped.
Apparently, the newer BMW remaps are going to be upwards of £500. For those that "help" him, he's looking at the £350ish mark.
He's also after the new 3 series, E90,E91,E92,E93 as these have similar software on them.
Anyone interested can give him a call on 07831 103030 (b&wchiptune.co.uk).
 
#10 ·
My Spider arrived today... will fit it when I get back from the Highlands. Will give you an average of MPG from Chiswick to Highlands, and then on the way back with the Spider fitted.
 
#11 ·
OK - average for 719 miles driven yesterday was 36.9 mpg. Starting mileage on the clock was 283 miles for my 123D.

Average speed from the centre of the Highlands to centre of London was 78.3 miles per hour.

Average mpg was..... 36.9! Not bad all things considered! Filled up 1.5 times - it costs £50 approx to fill up from more or less empty - depending on price at petrol station.

Now the car has about 1600 miles on it from this weekend, will be fitting Spider now, to see how it gets on :eek2:
 
#12 ·
cheekiestgrin said:
Going for 300bhp and a ludicrous amount of torque..
Wow! What else do you have planned to get to the 300bhp mark? Will you need to upgrade the larger turbo to get the 60bhp that the spider unit alone leaves you short? Very interested to follow this one (I love major upgrades!)
 
#13 ·
kiforrest said:
You've missed off the best company IMHO - emaps - . Simon, the owner is knowledgeable, professional and offers fantastic value for money. Plus he travels to your home or place of work to undertake the remap.
simon is a top bloke i agree, he has just done my 335D, very pleased with his work !!
 
#14 ·
I am looking at getting the Steinbauer system, more expensive but it uses the system of opening the injectors for a fraction longer to get more fuel in as opposed to upping the pressure on an already very high pressure system. Power should be at around 207bhp, torque at just over 400nm. Getting it done at Rossiters in Norfolk who are the UK distributer for AC Schnitzer. I won't be getting it fitted until first week in April as Skiing for a fortnight is in the way :D
Will let you know what the differance is when i have got used to the leap from 163 to over 200...
 
#16 ·
Im looking for someone to re-map my 123d MSport 3 door Hatch -

Who shall i use?

I spoke to DMS who informed me that the ECU is encrypted, is this true, and if so, whats the best way to go?

GT
 
#19 ·
Ptorque don't currently offer a remap for the new 177 BHP engine due to the ECU

Just bought a tuning box and gais appear good
 
#20 ·
Dont beleive re-maps are available for the newer 1er - 120d/123d as ECU is encrypted.

If i'm wrong then please let me know as i'd love to remap my 123d. Dont like tuning boxes, havent had good feedback about them from some sources. Mostly i have had good, but the little doubt i have had has put me off somewhat.

GT
 
#23 ·
Well got it done :p fantastic job what a difference went well before but now :) 2 words millennium falcon :lol2: and smooth as you like,pulls in any gear no huge peaks and drops of power just a powerfull surge that goes well up the rev range,totally controlled.
Will at performance torque really knows his stuff and i would go back anytime :thumbs: check him out and see. :worship:
 
#25 ·
hi here is a new one to consider DYNOJET UK who deal in power commanders for motorcycles are branching into the car sector only for petrol engines at the moment nothing availiable as yet but im led to belive they have had good results with an imprezza turbo just adjustments to air fuel up to 40 bhp no alterations to turbo boost pressures whatsoever! my mate has a dynojet set up for bikes and has just installed a car dyno of theirs i will keep you all posted when he has had a go at my 130i m :bigsmile:
 
#26 ·
MR BLACK said:
Well got it done :p fantastic job what a difference went well before but now :) 2 words millennium falcon :lol2: and smooth as you like,pulls in any gear no huge peaks and drops of power just a powerfull surge that goes well up the rev range,totally controlled.
Will at performance torque really knows his stuff and i would go back anytime :thumbs: check him out and see. :worship:
Thanks for the feedback Rob :)
 
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